Once again, the Swiss Medium Goal Championships at the Polo Park Zürich provided a tingling mix of great excitement, drama and a great atmosphere. In addition, there was a very special premiere to celebrate this year.
For years, the trophy of the “Swiss Medium Goal Polo Championships” has been considered the most coveted of the season – and this time, a total of six teams fought for victory. Five came directly from the organizing club, while the sixth team was made up of players from three different cantons and an Argentine professional.
On the first day, the level of excitement remained consistently high, as all matches came down to the wire: Polo Park Zürich won against Polo Club Zug only in overtime. There was even a dash of drama in the second match: Sébastien Le Page, playing for Los Lobos, injured himself at the end of the second chukker after scoring a goal and was therefore replaced by Stefan Roth. Then Los Lobos finished the match against Gräff Capital with a very close 9:8 victory. Séb was replaced for the rest of the weekend by Patricio Gaynor Benoit, a Swiss-Argentine player just 13 years old, due to his injury. The first match on Saturday was lost by Polo Club Zug against Gräff Capital. Kusnacht Practice, the “lucky loser” from the previous day, lost to Polo Park Zürich and in the last match of the day Los Lobos defeated Equilibrium.
Sunday, under vibrant sunshine, all teams were eager to win. While the first game was discontinued after 2 chukkas due to an accident, the second game was very disputed and Equilibrium won by only one goal against Gräff Capital.
The final between the defending champions and Los Lobos promised to be a particularly contested and correspondingly close match at the start. But after the first chukker, Los Lobos took a clear lead and finally secured the title of the 2022 Swiss Medium Goal Polo Championships with victory. For Patricio Gaynor Benoit in particular, it was a very special tournament. At just 13 years old, he is the youngest player ever to win this championship. The talent obviously runs in the family: Patricio triumphed three years after his father was able to hold the trophy in his hands.
Ranking:
1. Los Lobos (+6)
Morgan Van Overbroek, B (0)
Facundo Kelly, AR (+3)
Martin Podesta, AR/I (+3)
Patricio Gaynor Benoit CH/AR (0)
2. Polo Park Zürich
Sacha Djafarian, CH (-1)
Thomas Wolfensberger, CH (+1)
Walter Cortez, AR (+4)
Juan Diego Rizo Patron Parks, PE (+2)
3. Equilibrium (+6)
Daniel Aegerter, CH (0)
Stefan Roth, CH (0)
Matias Allaria, AR (+2)
Francisco Fucci, AR (+4)
4. Gräff Kapital (+6)
Markus Gräff, CH (0)
Reto Hausammann / David Kalberer CH/CH (0/0)
Alejo Badano, AR (+3)
Thommy Gräff, CH (+3)
5. Polo Club Zug (+6)
Aline Haerry, CH (-1)
Andrew Drummond, CH (+1)
Chris Kiesel, DE (+2)
Facundo Guevara, AR (+4)
6. Kusnacht Practice (+6)
Andrew Guthrie, GB (0)
Eduardo Greghi, CH/BR (0)
Jacinto Peralta Ramos, AR (+2)
Carlos Solari, AR (+4)
Best playing pony: Arisquisabia – owned by Sébastien Le Page – played by Martin Podesta.
PROGRAM / Results
Friday, June 10th
15.00 h: Game 1 Kusnacht Practice 4 – Equilibrium 6
16.15 h: Game 2 Polo Park Zürich 5 – Polo Club Zug 4
17.30 h: Game 3 Gräff Capital 6 – Los Lobos 7
Saturday, June 11th
15.00 h: Game 4 Polo Club Zug 4 – Gräff Capital 6
16.15 h: Game 5 Kusnacht Practice (Lucky Loser) 6 – Polo Park Zürich 7
17.30 h: Game 6 Equilibrium 5 – Los Lobos 6 (Seb replaced by Patricio Gaynor JR).
Sunday, June 12th
10.30 h: 5th & 6th place Polo Club Zug 4 – Kusnacht Practice 2
11.45 h: 3rd & 4th place Equilibrium 6 – Gräff Capital 5
Final Swiss Medium Goal Polo Championship
13.00 h: Polo Park Zürich 3 – Los Lobos 8
Referees: Cesar Ruiz Guiñazú & Nicolas Scorticcini
